Survey For My College Project

[verhoevenc]

Whent aking this survey please try and put yourself in the average consumer mindset, and think only of large manufacturing companies (like Fender, Ibanez, the stuff you'd find at guitar center, not cusotm builders you know), as well as thinking of what an INDIVIDUAL company offers, not the market as a whole.

1) Do you find the current companies have sufficient options available on their guitars?

a) Yes

b ) No

2) What do you find is the area that these companies could improve most in?

a) Wood choice

b ) Pickups choice and variety in terms of styles, function, brands, etc.

c) Electronics wiring

d) Color choices

e) Inlay

f) Neck shape and construction type

g) Body shape and construction type

3) What do you find is the second most crucial area these companies could improve in?

Same choices as question 2

4) Do you find that when companies do offer extra options outside their common methods that they are reasonablly priced (ie: benefit equals or outways the cost)?

a) Yes

b ) No

5) Do you have any other comments, suggestions, criticisms, or complaints about the current guitar market that you feel this survey did not address?

Thanks you guys, the more people that answer the better!

Chris

[whitey]

1-b

2-a

3-g

4- thats a big fat B! >_<

5-how they are built...by 13 year old girls from taiwan is not an option for squires etc

[thegarehanman]

I think a lot of us are unable to answer this poll because we only play our own guitars and, accordingly, pay little attention to the guitar market. Well...at least that's my excuse.

[AlGeeEater]

1) Do you find the current companies have sufficient options available on their guitars?

b ) No

2) What do you find is the area that these companies could improve most in?

a) Wood choice

3) What do you find is the second most crucial area these companies could improve in?

b ) Pickups choice and variety in terms of styles, function, brands, etc.

4) Do you find that when companies do offer extra options outside their common methods that they are reasonablly priced (ie: benefit equals or outways the cost)?

b ) No

5) Do you have any other comments, suggestions, criticisms, or complaints about the current guitar market that you feel this survey did not address?

Nope!

Like Russ pretty much says, it's hard to do this poll on a forum for those who build custom guitars, and rarely play stock big guitars. You might want to sign up for the forum at www.ultimate-guitar.com and post it there, there's a TON of players there (almost 800 people browsing the forum right now!).

Edited April 13, 2006 by AlGeeEater

[Hunter]

1. A - Yes, there's plenty of choices out there.

2. A - Considering some companies pass low quality woods off as different types, yeah.

3. B - Especially in cheaper guitars.

4. B - There's a few, such as Carvin, but generally they're not cheap.

5. No. ;>_>

[lovekraft]

OK, this is the best I can do, because your multiple choices don't give me enough options.

1) Do you find the current companies have sufficient options available on their guitars?

Options, yes - meaningful, useful options, no.

2) What do you find is the area that these companies could improve most in?

Fit and finish and playability, almost universally - even factory setups have become less than stellar.

3) What do you find is the second most crucial area these companies could improve in?

Value for price.

Do you find that when companies do offer extra options outside their common methods that they are reasonablly priced (ie: benefit equals or outways outweighs the cost)?

Oh, definitely not!

5) Do you have any other comments, suggestions, criticisms, or complaints about the current guitar market that you feel this survey did not address?

Yes, but posting them here would get me a vacation.

[fryovanni]

1) For "off the rack"-Yes

2)Set up and playability.

3)Electronics options

4)Depends on the option, but if I looked at options it would probably turn into a custom shop special order(some companies are reasonable, some are not).

5)I suppose the purchasing of so many companys by large companys has made pricing and brand name more important than product (Example- Kramer ), but I guess that has always been the case to a degree. Really the advances in manufacturing have really brought price down and products reflect pretty good quality(till the point where someone actually takes time to finish the job right, and price starts to relect wages of a real person).

[ibanez_crazy]

1 b

2 a

3 b

4 b

5 Same as lovekraft

[crafty]

1. A

2. A

3. B

4. B

5. I'd like to see a little more value for the money, especially with the more expensive instruments. There's no reason why Gibson can't do long-tenon neck joints on ALL of their set-neck instruments over $600. There's no reason why Fender can't use two-piece bodies and better bridge designs on all of their models. There's no reason why a PRS 513 should cost as much as a used Yamaha baby grand. I do understand why certain things can't happen and why certain options just aren't available, but I think companies like Carvin are a good model of what can be done with modern manufacturing techniques and use of global resources to build quality instruments and electronics.

Gibson has done a good job of upgrading their pickups over the last few years, but Fender's pickups are just atrocious. They've brought back the Tex-Mex, a good thing, but the SCN is terrible. Way too bright. Not quite as bad as the Vintage Noiseless, but still terrible. I'll take the old Lace Golds over SCNs any day of the week. Hook up with Duncan or DiMarzio, or take the rare-earth magnets away from Bill and tell him to wind up a pickup that sounds as good as his old stuff.

Edited April 13, 2006 by crafty

[28if]

1) Do you find the current companies have sufficient options available on their guitars?

a) Yes

2) What do you find is the area that these companies could improve most in?

a) Wood choice

3) What do you find is the second most crucial area these companies could improve in?

c) Electronics wiring

4) Do you find that when companies do offer extra options outside their common methods that they are reasonablly priced (ie: benefit equals or outways the cost)?

b ) No

5) Do you have any other comments, suggestions, criticisms, or complaints about the current guitar market that you feel this survey did not address?

Pricing. Guitars are overpriced all over the board, espeically with the brand names. Les Paul Standard for 2300 dollars? Bull.

[redwhiteandthemaple]

1. A

2. A

3. B

4. B

5. Guitar pricing vs. quality should represent more of a linear graph. As you go to the high ends, pricing goes ridiculously high, but its quality increases so little relative to the lower ends. I don't think there's too much probblem or difference in the lower range such as approx. >$700. So bottom line: you should get what you pay for!

[Drak]

My apologies, but I haven't bought a factory built guitar in over 11 years.

[Daniel Sorbera]

b

b

f

b

[Phont24]

1) A

2) C

3) G

4) B

5) I like how a beginner can buy a playable guitar and enjoy it without paying an outrageous price. However, I dislike how simply redoing all of the solder joints can greatly improve the sound. I hate how companies disregard the little things which could improve their product immensely. It's general construction that needs to be improved.

[Myka Guitars]

I think a lot of us are unable to answer this poll because we only play our own guitars and, accordingly, pay little attention to the guitar market. Well...at least that's my excuse.

+ 1

[Roadhouse Blues]

1-b

2-b

3-a

4-b

5- Agreed- pricing vs. quality. Many instruments made in the US are priced more than others made in asian countries. However, some companies have factories in Asia and America, but they decide to cheap out on the wood sent to Asia, and just put nicer wood into American guitars, making you pay for wood, and origin. Gretsch makes many of its guitars in Japan, and they're excellently crafted, made of nice wood, though expensive. I believe many grestches are worth their prices, but many companies that outsource building to Asia cheap out on materials, such as certain squires, which are made of plywood!!!

[Stolysmaster]

1) No

2) A

3) F

4) No

5) What Phont24 and 28if said!

[MiKro]

1) No

2) Wood choice

3) Pickups choice and variety in terms of styles, function, brands, etc.

4) No

5) No Comment

[zionstrat]

1) Do you find the current companies have sufficient options available on their guitars?

b ) No

2) What do you find is the area that these companies could improve most in?

b ) Pickups choice and variety in terms of styles, function,

3) What do you find is the second most crucial area these companies could improve in?

Same choices as question 2

c) Electronics wiring

4) Do you find that when companies do offer extra options outside their common methods that they are reasonablly priced (ie: benefit equals or outways the cost)?

a) Yes

5) Do you have any other comments, suggestions, criticisms, or complaints about the current guitar market that you feel this survey did not address?

As an x music vendor marketing type, I'm pretty sure you will need to target much tighter than a board if you want useful data- If this is just for a project, go for it, but my guess is there are at least 2 or 3 user personas to consider-

1. Consumer

2. Pro and semi-pro

I'm betting you can survey consumers just like any other prodcut- They will be driven by whatever is currently cool-

Boards will probably bias towords semi-pro and their needs are probalbly very different from consumers- They recognise that their sound is far more important than what is popular, and will understand, and demand details like scale length and radius-

Pros are probably too concentrated and diverse to poll IMHO

Hope this helps!

[SwedishLuthier]

1 b

2 f

3 g

4 b

5Most companies just follow the beaten path except for a few (PRS and Parker when the started). I would like to see more original designs and ideas.

[azz-230]

1) Do you find the current companies have sufficient options available on their guitars?

a) Yes

2) What do you find is the area that these companies could improve most in?

a) Wood choice

3) What do you find is the second most crucial area these companies could improve in?

b ) Pickups choice and variety in terms of styles, function, brands, etc.

4) Do you find that when companies do offer extra options outside their common methods that they are reasonablly priced (ie: benefit equals or outways the cost)?

b ) No

5) Do you have any other comments, suggestions, criticisms, or complaints about the current guitar market that you feel this survey did not address?

nope

[gripper]

1) They have lots of options but they are not options of real value.

2) Variety of style and "final-details".

3) American-builds: their high overhead Imports: component quality.

4) Almost never but there are a few exceptions.

5) Well, yes, but besides the mail-order trend and the crappy dealership setups, I chose not to make this list too long.

[exhaust_49]

1-B

2-B

3-F

4-B

5. I would like guitar makers to stop cutting corners. I think guitar companys need much better quality control (no names mentioned). Also when buying a guitar, I want to pay for the guitar and not the name on the headstock.

[ToneMonkey]

1) b - In a world of just in time manufacturing then you should at least be able to choose what colour you want the hardware.

2) Most of these. I can see why the body shape, colour and constrcution type would be hard to change as they're manufacturing process. I can see why these don't change as they would essentially be different models if they did (with the exception of the colour). The rest are just assembly options, so that's where I would like to see options.

3) As above but with the exception of the inlay.

4) Couldn't say with any accuracy. In other areas, I've found that it depends on the company. What you have to be careful of is the way that some companies will take the total PRICE of the item (the price we pay, including the companies mark up) and then take off the COST of the item to be replaced. They will then add the PRICE of the new item going on (including mark up). This means that they also keep their mark up on the item that they took off. Kind of a reward for doing the maths

5) Don't know the market well enough to really comment. Wish they'd be a bit more original sometimes, I'm bored of seeing a new guitar hat looks like a strat. But saying that, it seems to be the market so they're just producing what they can sell.

Good luck with the project dude. What you studying?

Kaj

[verhoevenc]

I'm kinda like a pre-law major with business concentration. But this is for a "English Business" class. Ie: study business proposals, memo's etc. lol kinda easy.

I'm doing a final project business proposal to start up a warmoth type company but offer stuff other than JUST bolt ons.

Chris